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CHAPTER V.

ITALY AND PAPAL STATES.

ITALY,

Formerly the center of the Roman Empire, comprises a number of islands in the Mediterranean sea, and a large peninsula, between the latter body and the Adriatic sea. It lies between latitude 47° and including Sicily, 36° 41′ 30′′ north, and longitude 6° 35′ and 18° 35′ east. Its greatest length from north to south, is six hundred miles; from east to west, three hundred miles; area, one hundred and seventeen thousand nine hundred and fourteen square miles.

The Alps separate Italy from France, Switzerland, and Austria, and send ramifications over the northern part of the country. The Apennine mountain range winds through the entire length of the peninsula from north to south. The valleys between the mountains are extremely fertile, and well adapted to cultivation. The Apennines contribute beauty and grandeur to central Italy, which in the southern districts assumes a wilder aspect. In the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius and the city of Naples, the scenery approaches almost a savage grandeur. This volcanic peak rises out of a fertile and luxuriant plain, three thousand nine hundred and forty-eight feet above the sea. The crater is fifteen hundred feet in diameter, and five hundred feet deep. Around the base of Vesuvius are immense fields of hardened lava and scoriæ, which have been ejected from the volcano. Its first recorded eruption occurred in A. D. 63, and in 79 the cities of Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Stabiæ, were buried in lava and ashes, which were emitted from this volcano. The site of Herculaneum was discovered in 1713, but though extensively excavated, only a small portion of the ancient theater is visible. Pompeii, not having been buried in lava, but ashes, is much

more easily excavated than Herculaneum, and a large number of statues, urns, etc., here found, have been deposited in the museum at Naples. After being buried nearly eighteen hundred years, these cities are gradually being removed of their covering, and are found to be in a remarkable state of preservation. (See views of Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Vesuvius.) Sicily is crossed by a mountain chain from east to west, known first as Neptunian, and afterwards as Madonian mountains. This chain so greatly resembles the Appenines, and the physical character of the Strait of Messina is such as to give strength to the assertion that Sicily formerly constituted a part of the mainland, from which it has been separated by some terrible convulsion of nature. The prevalence of earthquakes, and the frequency of volcanic eruptions, are facts that further support this theory. Etna, Stromboli, and Lipari, are still subject to terrible eruptions. The former is an isolated peak, forming a perfect cone, which has a circumference at its base of eighty-seven miles, and is one of the greatest curiosities of the world. It has an altitude of ten thousand eight hundred and seventy-four feet. It is nearly encircled, except on the east, where it is bordered by the sea, by the Alcantara and Giaretta rivers. There are about sixty recorded eruptions of Etna, the most remarkable of which are those of the years 1669, 1792, 1811, 1819, and 1832. Numerous new vents were formed near the summit in 1832, from which issued sheets of flame, and immense quantities of ashes and cinders. In 1669, one of these burning streams of molten matter overtopped the ramparts of Catania, sixty feet in hight, and fell in a fiery cascade into the city, a part of which it destroyed. It however, ultimately cooled, and the solid lava may still be seen curling over the top of the rampart, like a cascade in the act of falling. (See view.) In the northern part of Italy are the great plains of Lombardy, which are drained by the river Po.

The rivers of Italy, owing chiefly to the narrowness of the country, are generally small, sometimes obstructed with rapids, and navigable only for small boats. The Po is much the largest, and rises in Mount Piso. Among the others may be mentioned

Adige, Brenta, Piave, Tagliamento, Aterno, Saugro, Metauro, Ofanto, Arno, and Tiber. The chief lakes are Como, Garda, Maggiore, Lugano, Iseo, and a part of Geneva. The Como lake might properly be regarded as an expansion of the Adda river, which enters it at the foot of the Rhetian Alps, and flows from it at Lecco. It is environed on the south by mountains from one thousand to thirteen hundred feet in hight, and is separated into its two branches of Como and Lecco by a peninsular projection known as Bellagio. It is thirty-five miles long, and three miles wide, and is surrounded by the richest of Italian scenery. The water abounds with fish, and the lake is exposed to sudden storms, which greatly impede water communication. On the shore are a number of villas, among which may be mentioned Villa Lenno, on the supposed site of Pliny's villa, and Villa d'Este, once the residence of Caroline, Queen of England. (See views of Como.)

The climate of Italy is varied. In the north flourishes vegetation peculiar to the temperate zone, while in the south it reaches the richness and luxuriance of that in tropical countries. The singular clearness of the atmosphere sets off the landscape beauties of Italy with brilliant effect, giving a brightness of color, and distinctness of outline rarely known in other countries. The lakes in the basin of the river Po, and the lagoons and marshes of Venice are frequently frozen in winter, but the climate of Calabria, Sicily, and the adjacent islands, is such as to promote the vegetation of the tropical zone. Silk is extensively manufactured in the northern provinces, and sugar-cane flourishes in Sicily. Corn is produced in large quantities, as is also cotton, hemp, flax, oil, rice, olives, wine, and fruits.

Florence is the capital of Italy, and Naples, Milan, Turin, Venice, Geneva, Leghorn, and Verona are the most important

towns.

FLORENCE

Is an important city and capital of Italy, in the division of Tuscany, chiefly on the northern bank of the Arno river. The river is here spanned by four bridges, the finest of which, Ponte

del la Santa Trinita, remarkable for its light and graceful architecture, is constructed of marble, has three arches, and is adorned with statues. The general appearance of Florence is neat and prepossessing. The streets, though narrow, are clean, and are lined with public and private edifices of every description and style. There are a great many noble and elegant palaces, among which the Pitti palace, the former residence of Luca Pitti, and now of the grand duke, holds a conspicuous place. (See view.) The most important building of Florence is the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Flore, an imposing structure, surmounted by a dome, the largest in the world. The walls are of brick, and are incrusted with marble. Among the other buildings may be mentioned the church of Santa Croce, containing the ashes of Michael Angelo, Galileo, and other celebrated men, the church of St. John, now used as a city baptistery, the Biblioteca Marucelliana, Magliabecchian, and Laurentian libraries, the latter of which occupies a long and lofty gallery, with windows of stained glass. Florence is surrounded by a wall, four and one-fourth miles in circuit, and is entered by seven gates. Population in 1862, one hundred and fourteen thousand three hundred and sixty-three.

NAPLES,

Formerly the capital of the state of Naples, and at present capital of Napoli, is the most populous city of Italy. It is near the north-eastern extremity of the Bay of Naples, at the base of Mount Vesuvius, one hundred and eighteen miles south-east of Rome. Opposite Vesuvius, on the east, rises the peak of Pausilippo, and in the background recede the ramifications of the Apennines. The city itself has scarcely a rival in beauty of location and grandeur of surrounding scenery. The streets are paved with blocks of hardened lava, and, with but few exceptions, are straight and clean. The most important building is a fine Gothic cathedral, occupying the site of a Temple of Apollo, and containing relics of St. Januarius. The royal palace is an immense building, three stories high, each of which is composed of a different order of architecture. Its original design has not been carried out, but it is richly furnished, and adorned with

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paintings, statues, etc. (See views.) The other buildings worthy of note are the Palace of Capo di Monte, the Palazzo Degli Studij Publici, a building of the seventeenth century, the churchs Dei Santi Apostoli, St. Martin, St. Philip de Neri, Del Parto, and San Severo, and royal library. The chief manufactures are silk, lace, gloves, carriages, soap, violins and other musical instruments, hats, woollen, linen, etc. Population, four hundred and eighteen thousand nine hundred and sixty-eight.

TURIN,

One of the most important cities of Italy, and capital of Piedmont, is on a rich plain among the Alps, on the right bank of the river Po, at the mouth of the Dora Susina, eighty miles south-west of Milan. The most important building is the cathedral, the interior of which is richly ornamented with frescoes and paintings, and containing the remarkable chapel of Santo Sudario. Among the other ecclesiastical buildings may be mentioned the churches of San Filippo Neri, Santa Christina, Corpus Christi, Sant 'Andrea, and San Rocco. Turin has a university, an Episcopal seminary, a royal military academy, and two colleges. Population in 1862, one hundred and eighty thousand five hundred and twenty.

MILAN,

Third city in size in Italy, is on a fertile plain, between the basins of the Ticino and Adda, eighty miles north-east of Turin, and one hundred and seventy-five miles west of Venice. The city is encircled by a wall, and is entered through eleven gates. The buildings are generally of brick, and frequently have elegant exteriors.

The chief object of interest, however, of Milan, is the cathedral, a massive structure, which ranks in size and beauty of architecture among the finest buildings of the world. It is in a square in the heart of the city, called Piazza del Duomo, and is four hundred and ninety feet long, two hundred and ninetyeight feet wide, and three hundred and fifty-five feet high to the apex of the dome, above which rises an obelisk spire. Around

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